ATS 2018: Cutting-Edge Research and Hot Topics in Pulmonary Medicine

New research on role of mitochondrial dysfunction among meeting highlights

SAN DIEGO -- The role of mitochondrial dysfunction in lung disease and critical care will be among the cutting-edge topics in pulmonary medicine highlighted here at the annual American Thoracic Society (ATS) International Conference.

More than 14,000 investigators, clinicians and educators in the fields of pediatric and adult pulmonary care, critical care and sleep medicine are expected to attend the conference, which runs May 18-23.

The meeting, now in its 114th year, is the largest and longest running conference for pulmonary and critical care professionals in the world, said Conference Committee Chair Jess Mandel, MD, of the University of San Diego School of Medicine.

"This is an opportunity for people from around the world to gather to exchange ideas, and a lot of the material covered goes beyond pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine into infectious disease, allergy and immunology, pediatrics and a slew of other disciplines," Mandel said.

He told MedPage Today that the emerging recognition of the role of mitochondrial dysfunction in lung disease and critical care medicine is among the most exciting new areas of research in the field.

"We've known for 100 years that patients with sepsis have a high risk for developing kidney injury, and the assumption has been that this was due to impaired blood flow, low blood pressure and other things," he said. "We are now recognizing that mitochondrial injury within the kidney has a big role to play."

Sessions on the topic scheduled for ATS 2018 include "Setting the Stage: Mitochondrial Dysfunction as a Driver of Chronic Disease," and "Are Your Mitochondria Happy? A Beginners Guide to Assessing Mitochondrial Function at the Bench."

Physician, historian and writer Victoria Sweet, MD, of the University of California, San Francisco, will deliver a keynote address entitled, "Slow Medicine: The Key to Post-ICU Recovery."

In her latest book "Slow Medicine: The Way to Healing," Sweet advocates for a more patient-centered, less technological, slowed-down approach to delivering healthcare.

James P. Kiley, PhD, of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), is scheduled to deliver a keynote address entitled, "NHLBI and the Evolution of Pulmonary Research," and Tait Shanafelt, MD, of Stanford University Medical Center, will discuss clinician burnout in his keynote address, "Reducing Burnout and Promoting Engagement: Individual and Organizational Approaches to Physician Well-Being."

Shanafelt was appointed chief wellness officer at Stanford Medicine last year, the first academic medical center in the nation to have the position devoted to improving physician wellness and reducing burnout.

New research on the impact of smoking and newer non-combustible tobacco products on respiratory diseases will be presented, with more than a dozen abstracts presenting new research on electronic cigarettes.

Approximately 6,700 abstracts and case reports and 500 sessions with more than 800 presenters are scheduled to be presented at the conference, and more than 200 exhibitors will be on-site.

Follow full coverage of the ATS 2018 on MedPage Today and on Twitter at #ATS2018.

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